SUDDENLY DISCO seems to be “in” again, to judge from the chart — and isn’t Evelyn King doing well? . . . David and Sketch are rumoured to have un-Linxed, and Pete Stringfellow it’s speculated has bought London’s Talk Of The Town venue (who else could afford the rates?) . . . ‘The Passage‘ is the Evasions return soon on Groove Production — it’s a send up of ‘The Message’ . . . Chris Hill is looking for a young guy, preferably a jock, to do disco promotion “in the old style” at Ensign (01-727 0527) . . . Teena Marie and Motown, her managers, and everyone down to the washroom attendant seem to be at legal loggerheads in the States currently . . . Solar next month in the USA launches a new label, Constellation, for white pop acts — but they’ll be produced by Solar’s usual black team . . . Rams Horn’s rumoured demise in Holland was evidently greatly exaggerated . . . Marvin Gaye’s now completed debut set for CBS has totally electronic backing, ‘Sexual Healing’ the first single reportedly being a real knee trembler (due next month) . . . Diana Ross’s next single from an upcoming LP is ‘Muscles‘, prod/penned by Michael Jackson! . . . The Quick are not now on commercial 12in after all, so wave bye bye to that . . . The Limit’s UK B-side, ‘Pop‘, turns out to be a really nice slinky 90bpm jogger with bright Heatwave-ish harmonies and jazzy instrumentation . . . Steven Fay (Darwen) and 15 years old Nigel Halkes (Portishead) both indicate Hi Voltage ‘Let’s Get Horny‘ has the same tune (mixing well) as the 1978-issued Quartz ‘Beyond The Clouds‘ (TK) — rummage, rummage! . . . CBS’s tactics with Sharon Redd’s UK 12in have upset record dealers now lumbered with the unsaleable initial batch . . . Level 42’s live B-side tracks, it will come as no surprise to regular readers of this paper, were recorded last May in Guildford (yup!) and Tunbridge Wells . . . Galaxy’s Phil Fearon stuns everyone at PAs by doing a standing forward flip, feet to feet, appropriately enough during his ‘Head Over Heels’! . . . Steve Naylor has organised a return visit here for hot New York mixing jock Dan Pucciarelli, of Brooklyn’s Dynasty disco, who’ll be at Blackpool Touchdown this Thurs/Fri/Saturday (23/24/25), at Leeds Warehouse next Fri/Saturday (1/2), with Mike Shaft and Colin Curtis at Manchester’s Hell on consecutive Tuesdays (28/4), and on Mike Shaft’s Sunday afternoon Piccadilly Radio show . . . Tony Monson now does a weekly bit on Phil Allen’s late Saturday night/Sunday morning Capital Radio disco soul show, which of course features the Monson-compiled bang up-to-date London sales chart at 1.45 am . . . Robbie Vincent, whose Saturday lunchtime Radio London soul show guest this week is Bob James, reckons it’s a good job he does buy his own records as he’s not on many mailing lists himself — and if even he isn’t, what chance is there for youth club jocks?! . . . Robbie actually thinks Rockers Revenge is a “great record” but prefers to play something in the time available which maybe could do with the exposure: he also recommends Chez Moi in Tunbridge Wells, where DJ Miguel works hard and there’s a good vibe . . . Johnnie Walker, the ex-pirate/Radio One jock and not the Frenchies jazz-funker, has returned to England’s airwaves at Radio West in Bristol . . . Rockers Revenge, only just into the US Black singles chart, is finally top of the Dance/Disco chart there (Evelyn at 2) . . . Yazoo dropped the “oo” to become Yaz in the States as there’s another group of the same name . . . I Level, huge on New York’s urban contemporary radio, has been remixed by John Luongo for US Epic release . . . Richard Jon Smith is climbing fast US Dance/Disco . . . Eddy Grant’s ‘California Style‘ and ‘Time Warp‘ have been sought after for so long in New York that they’re now selling bundles there on bootleg . . . Simon Cowell has 7,000 kazoos (count ’em) to give away to mobile jocks to help promote Joce & The Kazoo Band’s ‘Kazoo Kazoo‘ — send your disco details to him at Baby Records, 46 South Molton Street, London W1Y 1HE . . . Nick Ratcliffe (0344-882535 daytime), now working exclusively in clubs, has a 300 watt mobile disco complete with light show all housed in a large box trailer for which he’ll accept around £1,300 . . . JFM sounds like a profit making concern — but not for its DJs? . . . Flashback twiddled along to 92MHz . . . Peterborough’s Slickers now re-opens on Sunday 10th October, with a big 3rd birthday alldayer . . . Brixton’s Fridge delayed going gay but now welcomes guys on Fridays, with Keith Barker-Main at the decks . . . Watford’s New Penny has big screen video (and 40p a pint until 10pm Thurs/Fri/Sat!) . . . Alan Costa (Brighton Kings Club/Kings II) tips a couple of German Hansa singles, Barrabas ‘On The Road Again‘ and Frank Zander’s send up of ‘Da Da Da’, sung in German but about changing a “da da da” drooling baby’s nappy . . . Sylvester’s showing in the funkier Disco chart owes most to Scottish, coastal holiday resort, and East London pub jocks (in case you were wondering?) . . . Colin Irving (Llandudno Risboro Hotel) has Yvonne Elliman ‘Love Pains‘ at number one . . . Kool’s ‘Let’s Go Dancin’ is monstrous for me at Mayfair Gullivers thanks to the ethnic audience . . . Frenchie (Blackpool), reporting big punter interest in slowies, revives Jean Carn’s 1978 ‘Don’t Let It Go To Your Head‘ . . . Neil Saxon (Fridays) and Dave Collins (Saturdays) have six months in which to get the old Eclipse disco in Coulsdon back on the map or else it’ll be turned into a restaurant — it’s above the Rising Sun in Chipstead Valley Road, they both play hot toons . . . Paul Burnette on his latest visit to Gt Yarmouth Tiffanys not only forgot all his records but even left his Radio One coat and case on the car park roof — however neither item even made the reserve of 10p at auction so DJ Roger Dynamite returned them via Simon Bates! . . . Mark Millar (Woodcote Hall Woody’s near Newport on Fridays, amongst other Telford area gigs) offers his own services as entertainment after the big showdown between Mike Page and Trevor Hughes — trouble is, Trevor seems kinda quiet of late, not a squeak out of him since Mike got holstered up . . . Gary Oldis (Aycliffe Bee Jays) mutters that ‘Lofty’ Lofthouse should clean up his act (and, yes, Gary — he plays Shakatak!) . . . Andy Baker (St Asaph Flicks) grumbles that I didn’t visit him from Denbigh, but with nearly no sleep all week and a breakdown on the way I was certainly in no shape to go out! . . . Steve Humphreys (Headcorn After Dark mobile) is trying to identify a Eurodisco/Kat Mandu ‘I Wanna Dance’ — sounding song with the line “dance like Fred Astaire” — any ideas? . . . Deborah McGriff & Rita Saunders, the Jamaica Girls now, earlier were on Legacy’s ‘Word Up’ . . . ‘Poltergeist’ is set deep in ‘E.T.’ territory . . . Jay W McGee, spelt correctly for weeks, inexplicably had an “h” added at a most inopportune time last week! . . . Bob Jones, “jazz rock jock”? . . . Tom Browne ‘Funkin’ For Jamaica’ synchs sensationally out of Howard Johnson ‘So Fine’, and with lots of vari-speed Imagination ‘Heart ‘N’ Soul’ is great out of Shakatak ‘Invitations’ . . . Froggy (who it was that forgot to take the Rick James T-shirts to Hastings) uses two copies of Sharon Redd’s ‘Beat The Street’ remix, whilst playing the vocal repeatedly synching the very end of the instrumental so that during her closing chorus you hear the words “beat it — beat it” flying from left to right across the speakers . . . er, JUMP JUMP JUMP TO IT . . . HEY . . . BEAT IT BEAT IT!

UK NEWIES

RAW SILK: ‘Do It To The Music’ (KR KRT 14).
Well, here’s a turn up — I didn’t expect it on KR! A huge seller on import, this chix cooed and wailed slinky 112-114-115-116bpm “do it do it do it do it” swayer (good fun with you know who!) has massive crossover appeal and builds through nice sax to a semi-“fierce” rhythmic finale, this element then being emphasized on 3-track 12in flip in an acappella started 0-114-115-116bpm ‘Dub Mix‘, and a now UK-only ‘Special Version’ which starts with ‘Poltergeist’-type noises.

SHARON REDD: ‘Never Give You Up’ (Prelude PRLA 13-2755).
Sensational value, as previously noted, this solidly smacking 112½bpm Evelyn King-ish A-side now being flipped on 3-track 12in by both the instrumental and vocal remixes of the electronically jittering smoother 118bpm ‘Beat The Street’!

LEVEL 42: ‘Weave Your Spell’ (Polydor POSPX 500).
Just like Shakatak these guys have sewn up a sound of their own, this particular glibly harmonised “thunderthumbs” bass pushed flowing 119-117-122(break)-118bpm 12in bounder erupting with jaggedly percussive bass halfway (it’s a remix of their LP version — full review next week), flipped by live versions of jittery 115bpm ‘Love Games’ and tranquil dreamy ‘Dune Tune’. Now if they can just stitch up Shakatak type sales . . .

ISLEY BROTHERS: ‘It’s Alright With Me’ (LP ‘The Real Deal’ Epic EPC 85790).
It’s taken a while but now this set is causing a stir amongst jazz-funk soul jocks thanks to this bright and breezy Hall & Oates-style 123-124bpm tripper, and an appreciation of the three smoochers, although the fast jerkily typical 126-127bpm title track, whipping 125(intro)-127-128-129-125bpm ‘Are You With Me?‘ and gigoloing 131-132-133-134bpm ‘Stone Cold Lover‘ have yet to get as much response.

BLOODSTONE: ‘Go On And Cry’ (Epic EPC A2713).
A commendably unlikely choice for first UK single off their excellent import LP, this is a superb deeply soulful romantic 54/27-55bpm 7in smoocher with long introductory rap and the odd Dells-like harmony, not to be missed by old timers.

EDDY GRANT: ‘I Don’t Wanna Dance’ (Ice ICET 56).
Instead of capitalising on the ‘Walking On Sunshine’ situation and coming up with a similarly hard killer, Eddy’s taken the soft option with this flabbily booming 123bpm 12in pop-reggae romp in his usual hit style — it does toughen up at the dubwise end, but the mis-spelt ‘Acapella’ flip is merely an emptier remix with no acappella (unaccompanied singing) at all.

SANTANA: ‘Nueva York’ (LP ‘Shango’ CBS 85914).
Nothing new though a return to old form, this 59/118(intro)-125-128-127-122bpm instrumental being right in the ‘Soul Sacrifice’ / ‘Jingo’ groove, plus there’s a pleasant 118-120bpm revival of Jr Walker’s ‘What Does It Take‘.

THE NICK STRAKER BAND: ‘Straight Ahead’ (US Prelude PRL D635).
Francois Kevorkian-mixed excellent straight ahead simple 121½bpm 12in jittery smacker just drives right along through frisky high pitched harmonies to reach a good honking sax, main vocal, and even more intensified rhythm, the flip having two lengths of differently treated instrumental — and as you see it’s taken off like a rocket!

GANG’S BACK: ‘Love’ (LP ‘Gang’s Back’ US Handshake FW 38156).
Not to be confused with Gary’s (or anyone else’s) Gang, this standout track is a sensationally lovely very Luther Vandross-ish mellow 122bpm swayer in the ‘Glow Of Love’ style (which to my surprise successfully synchs out of Evelyn King), an obvious candidate for 12in remix but still worth checking now, Fresno Cruz and his brassily soulful presumably “wetback” group sounding fine if less vital on the rest of the set, ‘Got My Eye On You‘ (an Al Hudson-ish chunky 119bpm jiggler) virtually seguing straight out of ‘Love’s final brass blasts.

STEVE ARRINGTON’S HALL OF FAME: ‘Way Out’ (US Konglather KNR-7491).
Previously dismissed in brief as a disappointment but a bit of a “grower” and now stomping its stolid way Southwards from the North-West, where it broke, the ex-Slave guy’s sinuously rolling 0-111(start)-110-109bpm 12in thudder does build a monotonous insistence with its weaving vocal lines and is doubtless good for a side-to-side kicking shuffle.

THE JAMMERS: ‘And You Know That’ (US Salsoul SG 377).
Although pitted against a typical acappella introed stark angular shorter A-side mix by the better known Shep Pettibone, the best side of this beefily lurching chix chanted and chaps sung 118½bpm 12in jiggly clomper strikes me as being the flutter echo acappella introed more flowing Richie Weeks mix — they really are both surprisingly different.

BOBBY NUNN: ‘She’s Just A Groupie’ (LP ‘Second To Nunn’ US Motown 6022ML).
Something of a musical chameleon, young Nunn perfectly copies Rick James on this good 0-112-110-111-112bpm jerky smacker with sound effects, Michael Jackson (sort of) on the strutting, 121bpm ‘Never Seen Anything Like You‘, and Prince on the 122-123-124bpm ‘Got To Get Up On It‘ (the acappella outro of the preceding languidly pent-up 117-118-119bpm ‘Get It While You Can‘ usefully segues straight into this), ‘Sexy Sassy’ being a fast 139bpm gigolo whipper and ‘You Need Non-Stop Lovin’ another 135bpm whipper.

EXTRA T’S: ‘E.T. Boogie’ (US Sunnyview SUN 404).
The movie’s “E.T. phone home” catchphrase is excuse enough for a repetitive 113bpm 12in electro groove (114bpm instrumental flip) full of jittery flutter rhythm — not that you’ll be hearing this or anything else to do with the film on UK radio until it opens in December.

SHEREE BROWN: ‘Happy Music’ (LP ‘The Music’ US Capitol ST-12229).
Included off 7in in my very first Soul On Sound preview mix (so now I keep expecting L.J. Reynolds to appear out of it at any moment!), this jolting jittery slow tumbling 104½-105½bpm lurcher is the meatiest dance track on a rather nice listening set by the guitar strumming squeaky songbird, though the lovely pattering 102-103½bpm ‘Feels So Good‘, lush 0-91-45-95bpm ‘Can’t Live Without Love‘ and smoochy 47/94-97bpm ‘Got To Get Away‘ shouldn’t be ignored, the 119bpm ‘That’s The Way To Be’ and 109-113bpm ‘Love Only Knows’ being the other uptempo cuts.

CURTIS MAYFIELD: ‘Hey Baby (Give It All To Me)’ (LP ‘Honesty’ US Boardwalk NB 33256-1).
Beautiful gentle set mainly for listening, or smooching as in the case of this lovely lazily/loping gossamer soft 47/94-95bpm swayer, the rolling 96bpm ‘Nobody But You‘, or indeed most of them, the only faster dancer (though still laid back) being the looping 121-119bpm ‘Summer Hot‘.

I take it back Robbie – it seems that it was just Chris Hill who dug his heels it against the new sounds as Robbie V is sticking up for Walking on Sunshine this week. A lot of the pure jazzier djs wouldn’t have liked them though – it could all get a bit pompous in the jazz room at Caister on occasion as I remember. One of the djs in there blew his top bigtime on the mike once when someone had the temerity to blow a whistle in there. With Froggy’s sound system in the main (funk) room was where it was it back then.

And is that the first mention of London jazz funk pirate JFM (jazz funk music) which had just taken off?

Aha! Johnny Taylor’s “What About My Love” gets a review. 20 years later it would provide the inspiration for Shapeshifter’s “Lola’s Theme”. Little did we know what future horrors Simon Cowell & his kazoo’s would unleash on the world !